Jeeba Bessotria
by Merdina
Summary: Jumba, Gantu and Reuben are all trying to catch the same thing, but this time, she's not an experiment. A series of stories based around the mysterious Jeeba Bessotria. Rated T to be on the safe side. Please Review!
1. Stand Out

Stand Out

It was a boiling hot day all over Hawaii. The sun was glaring down so powerfully, and the heat was so intense that everyone had to go outside and make the most of it- inside it was like an oven.

Everyone, even Reuben had decided to go for a walk. He had decided that he would head down to the beach and chill out, and had packed a light picnic. He was strolling down a sandy path, dragging a red wagon full of sandwiches behind him, wondering where Gantu was. He usually leapt at the chance to steal one of the bacon and raisin rolls. "Meh. He's probably out there not catching yet another experiment…" he mumbled to himself through a mouthful of baloney.

Truth be told, Gantu had already 'not caught' another experiment- he had given up hours ago. He was sitting under the shade of a tree, watching the beach through binoculars in case the trog eventually showed up. He caught sight of another person looking through binoculars at the other end of the beach. Actually, they were probably easier to call 'quadoculars', because they had been modified for a person with four eyes. He recognised the large, bulky, purple form, and would have chased him to prevent him from capturing the experiment first. But it was simply too hot for him to even draw his trusty plasma blaster, let alone chase those two fugitives across the island.

Jumba and Pleakley were 'enjoying' a day at the beach. Lilo had gone off surfing with Nani and David, and Stitch was chilling out with Angel at the cinema. Pleakley had been under the impression that they would be enjoying the weather, but instead was disappointed to find that Jumba was intent on catching the latest little monster.

"You tell me now, mister! What is it that's so important about this experiment? Why are you still staring through that ridiculous piece of…? Jumba! Are you even listening to me?"

Jumba waved him off impatiently, and carried on staring. Eventually, Pleakley's curiosity got the better of him, and he removed a pair of binoculars from his handbag, staring through one lens. He focused in on the area that Jumba was looking at and his brow furrowed. Lying out on a beach towel was a woman. But she wasn't the typical sunburnt tourist. Her skin was a bright pink colour, and the hair that peeked out from underneath the large sunhat was a deeper pink.

It was obvious to both of them that this 'woman' was an alien of some kind, but what she was doing here was a mystery. Whilst her face remained a mystery, both the men could see that she was a very _boojita_ female. She had long, slender legs and arms, and her body seemed dwarfed by her chest. She was, unlike Pleakley, very up to date with her fashion sense, having chosen to wear a halter-neck bikini that didn't clash with her skin tone. It was lime green with a white floral pattern; very in keeping with the look this season.

Whilst Pleakley could see the appeal of this female to Jumba, he couldn't help but feel a little hurt. He had always though of Jumba as more of, well, a _mans_ man, and he always felt happy when dressed as his wife when they were in disguise together. He slunk off to the mall. He didn't want to stick the rest of today out.

Jumba decided that if the alluring female stayed for much longer, he would go down and talk to her. He scanned the rest of the beach, and then stopped. He had just seen something that made his blood boil. He needed to get down to the beach, pronto.

Reuben had been trying to get a good sun-bathing spot on the beach, when he had noticed a _boojita_ female lying down on a purple towel. Immediately he could tell that she wasn't an earthling, and so he decided to go and check her out. He might get lucky, after all. He had started to make his way over, licking his hand to slick back his hair, when he felt the ground shaking, and noticed competition coming from both directions. He made a break for her; running as fast as he could, his sandwich picnic long forgotten.

Gantu was sprinting down the hill towards the beach as fast as his legs could carry him. He had noticed that Jumba had stared in the same place for a long time, and had looked over, to see a rather gorgeous female stretched out on the beach. Training his binoculars around, he noticed that Jumba had leapt over the dock and was running along. He looked around and saw 625 walking over, looking suave and confident. How dare he muscle in on his big chance? He hadn't had a girlfriend in ages, and had thought his chances totally gone now he was on Earth. Reuben and Jumba, both noticing the competition quickened the pace.

Reuben skidded into view and cleared his throat. "Ahem. Hey there, gorgeous! You don't seem to be from round here and…" but he hadn't finished his line, and the girl hadn't even properly looked up before he was kicked clear across the beach by Jumba.

"Greetings. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the…" but Jumba also found himself knocked away. He landed on Reuben, and they looked from each other to Gantu in disgust.

The female had stood up now, and took off the large sunhat that obscured most of her face. Her cheeks were cherubic and round and her lips were full and kissable. All three admirers wanted to gaze into her eyes, but they were covered with dark sunglasses. "Hello…" she said, a little uncertain of whom she was addressing, "No, I'm not from around here. I'm from the planet Cupidine, and I'm here on a holiday. I came here because I heard that this island is inhabited with alien genetic experiments, and that I would probably see hundreds of 'life forms' that I would be able to talk to. So far, I've only seen you three."

Her voice was sweet, rich and smooth, like chocolate. All three of them were hanging onto her every word. Jumba broke the silence first, bringing the others back to reality.

"Allow me to be introducing myself. I am Dr. Jumba Jookiba, evil genius creator of all 626 experiments on this island."

She gasped delightedly. "I'm so pleased to meet you, Dr Jookiba. My name is Jeeba Bessotria. I can't believe I'm finally meeting the famous scientist who created all of those amazing experiments! I'd love to see some of them!"

Jumba was grinning, and was about to open his mouth when Reuben butted in for him. "Then look no further. I'm Reuben, Experiment 625. It's such a…"

"Quiet, 625! Listen, Miss Bessotria, you don't want to waste your time with these two. Why not take a tour of the island with me?" Gantu had finally got a word in. Jeeba looked up, and was suddenly aware that everyone was staring at her. She removed her sunglasses Jumba's mouth was left hanging open. She had four eyes. Just like him. The positioning could only suggest that she had Quelta Quanian in her blood. He hadn't seen another of his species in decades. Her eyes were sparkling and black like those of an entrancing spider. She blinked in the light, and looked into Jumba's eyes for a second.

"That would be lovely, Mr…"

"Gantu"

"Mr. Gantu. I've only been here for a few days, so I'd love to see more of the island with someone who knows what they're doing,"

"So why are you going with him?" asked Reuben, determined not to be forgotten, and whilst Jeeba laughed, she bent over to lift up her suitcase without really looking at him. Gantu picked it up for her, and held it easily in his mammoth hands.

"Oh, you're such a gentleman," said Jeeba, and they strolled off hand in hand. Reuben shouted "I'll see you later" across the beach, but Gantu pretended to point something out to Jeeba and ignored him.

Jumba turned to Reuben and they surveyed the situation for a while before he spoke.

"6-2-5, I know we are not having great friendship, but we are still having bond of Evil Genius and Evil Genius Creation. We are both trying to win Jeeba, but big dummy is in way. Shall we do something to clear the path?"

Reuben grinned. "Great. And I have a plan."

"But first we are getting one thing clear- it is every man for himself in this game. All is fair in love and war, as earth people say."

They shook hands on it, and began to consider Reuben's plan.

Jeeba was sitting comfortably on a seat in the town, eating a snow-cone whipped up for her by one of the experiments. She really liked Gantu, and he had been telling him about how he used to be Captain of the Galactic Alliance. She had always loved a man in uniform. Back on her planet, everyone was gorgeous, but they all looked the same. This was why her species relied more on hearing to find out who they found attractive.

All that the Cupidines bred with was each other. Except her mother, who had fallen for a Quelta Quanian. She supposed she had inherited this streak too. She wanted variety, and she could tell that the three that had met her on the beach did too. It was flattering that they had taken such an interest in her, and that a former Captain found her to his liking as well. His deep, masculine voice was oh, so attractive as well…

Gantu was grinning as he sat next to Jeeba. She leant against his side, and he felt her figure pressing at him. She was _so_ gorgeous! He reached his arm slowly around her waist and was about to hug her close when his video phone beeped. Grunting angrily, he flipped it open.

"Please excuse me, Jeeba. Yes? 625, what the hell do you want?"

"Well, if you're going to be like that, I won't tell you the location of the experiment you're trying to capture."

"I'm warning you…" He had been about to continue his threat, but Jeeba was looking up at him.

"There's going to be a chase? Will I get to see you capture an experiment?"

Her eyes were gleaming with excitement, and Gantu realised that this could be his chance to prove himself.

"Where is it?"

"Try up in that hut at the top of the volcano. I heard Pleakley telling Jumba that he'd seen it there."

Gantu slammed the phone shut and started running towards the volcano, Jeeba running next to him in full bay-watch style, bouncing up and down and sending shivers down his spine.

Up at the volcano, Jumba and Reuben lay in wait. Reuben was hiding in a bush and Jumba up a tree, the trunk bending under his weight. He had placed a volatile explosive of his own invention in the hut behind the door, and was already rubbing his hands together at the thought of the destructive power of it, looking like a true evil genius. He noticed Gantu running up the path, and grinned as he saw Jeeba running next to him. Everything was going according to plan.

Gantu looked around like a predator, even sniffing the air for the little trog. He then noticed that a bush under a bending tree was rustling. A sly grin formed on his face. Bingo. He ripped his plasma blaster from his belt and shot at it. A yellow blur flashed into the next bush, and was closely followed by another blast. The blur zoomed into the house, and Gantu was about to shoot again when Jumba leapt from the tree to land in front of the door.

"If you are wanting the experiment, you will be having to go through me."

Reuben ran through the back door of the hut, his face flushed gold. His plan was working, but he was pretty sure that there hadn't been so much effort involved. He snuck round to behind Jeeba stealthily, and grinned at Jumba, who was playing his part well.

"Listen to me, you fat idiot, if you think I'm gonna let you stand in the way of me capturing this experiment, then think again."

"But if you are blasting house like big dummy, you will be blowing up entire area!"

Gantu chuckled sarcastically, not believing a word. After all, it was Jookiba he was dealing with.

"And I suppose you're going to stop me?"

"I won't stop you. I am not going to be saving your patooki." Jumba blinked his top two eyes twice, the signal to start moving. Reuben unfurled his extra arms and grabbed Jeeba, sweeping her off her feet. She didn't scream, but she whirled her head around and looked at Reuben dead in the eyes. He should have started to run, but her eyes captivated him. She was so beautiful. Jumba sped past him and grabbed her from his arms, slinging her over his shoulder and running as fast as he could.

Reuben was in a daze, and then he realised what had happened. He turned as Gantu pulled the trigger.

"Oh Blitznak…" KABOOM!

The massive explosion blasted him off his feet. He couldn't see what had happened to Gantu, but he saw that the shockwave had also knocked over even Jumba, who was rolling over and over, his body curled round Jeeba like a protective shell. As he got up, a little shaken, she leapt at him and hugged him, calling him her saviour, her boojeebu, her guardian angel. As she did so, she caught sight of Reuben, his eyes welling up, and remembered that he would have saved her first. Behind her back, Jumba grinned smugly at Reuben, gesturing rudely with his chubby fingers and mouthing "Fair's fair, 625". Then he set off, carrying Jeeba proudly away from the wreckage.

Gantu was gingerly picking himself up from the ruins of the hut, and he said weakly to Reuben "625, what are you… oh." Reuben looked up and said, a little shakily, "C'mon. Let's get back to the ship." On the outside he was sooty and weakened from the explosion. But on the inside he was burning with a fury so powerful he could barely contain it. He would get back at his creator. He would stand out to Jeeba.

Little did he know that Jeeba was actually still thinking about him. She had been taken back to a charming house to meet Jumba's _ohana_, and was laying down on a bunk bed still taking it all in. Jumba's family were a little odd, but very nice- there was a young earth girl called Lilo and an adorable experiment, 626, or Stitch as he had introduced himself to her by, along with a wolf whistle. The older human, Naani was very friendly, and Jumba's friend, cross dressing one-eyed alien called Pleakley seemed nice enough, although a little quiet. He seemed almost jealous of her, although he did chat to her for a while when she admired his tee.

Jeeba was confused. She really didn't know how to react to anyone any more. Gantu had totally put her life on the line when he caused that explosion, even though Jumba had warned him about it. Jumba was a really lovely man, whom she admired so much for his intelligence and bravery, he had saved her life, and yet there was the other one, 625, Reuben. He had waltzed right up to her and started to chat her up like he didn't have a care in the world. 'Hey there, gorgeous'? He was so adorably full of himself, so confident. He had tried to save her, but had hesitated, possibly thinking of his friend, Gantu's safety first.

Her hearing couldn't help her either. She loved all their voices. Gantu's deep, masculine tone left her weak at the knees, Jumba's heavy accented rumble left her hanging on to his every word, and Reuben's sweet Brooklyn accent made him seem so arrogant and cute.

Jumba lumbered into the room, clambering into the bunk above her. She grinned to see how the mattress strained and sank down in the middle under his weight. He looked down.

"You want I should change beds?" he smiled.

She beamed back. "It's ok; I've just gotten comfy here. See you in the morning."

She turned over and flicked out the lights with a sigh.

The next morning, Jeeba awoke to see two smiling faces looking down at her. Blinking in the light, she looked up. The little girl, Lilo and Reuben's 'cousin' Stitch had brought her breakfast in bed. As she sat up, propped up with pillows and began to eat the scrambled mess of a runny egg and burnt toast soldiers, Lilo started to ask her questions about her life. After telling her about the planet Cupidine and her family, Jeeba started to ask questions about Jumba, Reuben and Gantu. She found out a lot about how Jumba was an 'evil genius', how Gantu was always trying to mess up their lives and how neither of them knew much about Reuben except that he had all of Stitch's powers and that he loved sandwiches.

Then Lilo put forward a more difficult question.

"So, are you Jumba's, you know…"

"Jumba's boojeebu?" completed Stitch.

Jeeba laughed, and replied that she didn't know yet. She quickly changed the subject and hurriedly dismissed them so that she could get dressed. Jumba had sent off Stitch overnight to fetch her suitcase from the wreck of the hut, and to Jeeba's delight it was unharmed. She emerged from the room looking pretty in a blue v-necked top and a short matching skirt, ready to face the day.

She spent the day babysitting Lilo, because Pleakley was shopping with Naani, and Jumba was off 'seeing to something'. However, that evening, Jumba appeared in a smart looking black suit that actually fitted around his bulky form, and with a large bouquet of roses in his hand. In front of an amused Lilo and Stitch, a confused Naani and a horrified Pleakley, he thrust the roses into her arms and invited her to dinner. Beaming, Jeeba said that she would be delighted, and ran off to change. Jumba sank down onto the couch and sighed. He looked up to realise that everyone was staring at him.

"What? Jeeba is prettier than ex-wife, and there are no other aliens on this tiny planet," he grumbled. "No female ones," he added with a small but pointed nod to Pleakley.

A few minutes later, Jeeba appeared in the doorway. Everyone stopped what they were doing to get a better look at her, and even Pleakley had to compliment her. She was wearing a red dress that was quite low cut, but flatteringly so along her enormous chest. She had red heels on, and scarlet lipstick. Gold jewellery glistened at her throat and ears, and her long pink hair was elaborately styled so parts of it rested at the top of her head like a crown, or a halo. She was out of the 'gorgeous' zone, and into the range of 'heart-stoppingly gorgeous'. Jumba picked the head off one of the roses and, remarkably tenderly for someone with such large hands, threaded it into her hair. They set off, arms linked, and to even Jumba's surprise, she retracted two extra arms and put them around his waist. Naani looked a little teary, and Lilo and Stitch were pulling faces and making sick noises. Pleakley sighed. It was so romantic.

At the restaurant they were shown to their seats by an experiment that looked like a butler, and the meal was prepared by a cute little French experiment with a spatula for a tail. It was spaghetti bolognaise, which, according to Jumba, was the most romantic meal on this planet.

Reuben was shaking with nerves. He had peered round the curtains to see Jumba and Jeeba sitting at a table. Jumba was wearing a suit, for crying out loud! Jeeba looked heavenly, and now Jumba was twirling spaghetti around a fork and feeding it to Jeeba. His creator knew how to be romantic from his numerous girlfriends, no doubt, and yet he, as a genetic experiment, had never known love. Until now, that is. He placed on his sunglasses and stepped out onto the stage.

Just as Jumba had his eyes closed, waiting for Jeeba to place a fork of spaghetti into his mouth, he heard the speakers announce that some live romantic jazz would be playing. He grinned- perfect. Jeeba had told him she loved jazz music with a passion. Sitting there patiently with his mouth open, Jumba heard the first notes start to play by a skilled saxophone musician. Jeeba still hadn't put the food in his mouth. He opened his eyes and growled. Jeeba was entranced by the person on the stage. Turning round, his hearts stopped beating. 625 was up on the stage, playing the sax and twirling round and round, sunglasses on in a cool and casual fashion.

He stopped playing and beckoned to Jeeba, who stood up and ran to the stage. He played a final piece, and then threw the sax to the ground, and grabbed hold of her. He clicked his fingers, and a brass band struck up. As they danced, swirling round and round, Reuben watched Jeeba's eyes and nothing else. They were glistening with adoration. Adoration for him. HIM! Not Jumba, but him. The band reached a climax, and he swept Jeeba over, supporting her with three arms like he had done before the explosion. With the other hand, he made the same rude gesture across the audience to Jumba as he had done to him and mouthed "Fair's fair, Jookiba." Then he leant in and kissed her passionately.

"Oh BLITZNAK!" groaned Jumba, smacking his head on the table and into his spaghetti. Jeeba laughed. She was in love.

_But for how long? Find out in the next instalment of the Jeeba stories, _I'll be there for you, _currently in progress!_


	2. I'll Be There For You

I'll Be There For You

Yes, Jeeba Bessotria was in love. It had forced its way through her body like a plasma blast. She needed him more than anything, more than air, than food, than water. And yet, the one she loved was not the one she was sitting on a bunk in a spaceship with and was not the one she was kissing.

Reuben was holding her body gently and carefully, as though she were made of glass. He couldn't believe that Jeeba was with him, that even though Gantu had made the first move and Jumba had saved her life that she was there kissing him. And yet, he could still sense a little uncertainty in her eyes. Perhaps he had been over-confident? But that was what made him so adorable and endearing, right? The clock display flicked over to midnight, and Jeeba broke away.

"I'm really tired, honey- I was looking after Lilo and Stitch all morning, and then I was out with Jumba in the evening. Would you mind terribly if I called it a night?"

Reuben sighed, relieved. It couldn't have been uncertainty he'd felt, she was simply tired. Tired because she'd been looking after his cousin and co.

"Sure, you can have this bunk. The couch over there folds out, I'll sleep there. Unless you want a little company?" She laughed and kissed his forehead, but disappointed him by offering to help unfold the couch. Just before he turned out the light, Reuben looked Jeeba straight in the eyes. "I love you, Jeebs." She gazed back, but looked away before she replied that she loved him too. The lights turned out.

The next day, Reuben awoke to the sound of sizzling from the 'kitchen' of the ship, and the smell of bacon, sausage and egg. Blinking blearily, he got up and plodded into the kitchen to the sight of Jeeba, sporting a pink-trimmed apron and frying a breakfast whilst Gantu was tucking in at the other side of the room.

"Hey, 625." Gantu had forgiven Reuben for the explosion, because he was pretty sure he'd have done the same thing.

Jeeba turned around and smiled.

"Good morning, honey! I'm making a fry-up. Just a second, the bacon's nearly done." Reuben watched, impressed as she expertly manoeuvred the meat and egg around the pan, sandwiching it between two pieces of fried bread and sliding it onto the plate, whilst making coffee and slicing tomatoes with her other hands.

Joining Gantu at the table, Reuben inspected his breakfast sandwich closely before taking a bite. It was delicious, not too greasy and not too dry, with just enough salt. Between chomps, he had to compliment her.

"Almost as good as mine, eh Gantu?"

As Gantu laughed at the hilarious 'joke', Jeeba grinned. It was a big compliment from Reuben, he thought very highly of his sandwich making skills.

"Thanks. I'm a chef back in Cupidine. I own a diner; it's famous in the town I live in."

"That makes sense," put in Gantu, "I was on a mission in Cupidine once, and I was told that if I got the chance I should try a diner called Jeeba's Place. I knew I'd heard your name somewhere before."

Jeeba blushed an attractive shade of purple, happy to know that her skills were appreciated off her planet as well as on it. She always cooked to calm herself down, and she needed her nerves to be steady for later, when she broke the news to Reuben. Throwing the sliced tomatoes into the pan and grating on some cheddar, she trilled "Who want's seconds?"

Down in his lab, Jumba sighed. He was embarrassed and lonely, and he didn't want anyone to come down to him. He had made such a big show of Jeeba, made such a fuss over her in front of Lilo, Stitch and Naani and hurt Pleakley's feelings. And for what? Just so that she could have a meal in a fancy restaurant before hooking up with 625. He'd made a fool of himself. He'd even been left with the bill! Pleakley was going around making snide remarks about her, and when Naani had tried to offer a friendly word of advice it had felt like she had turned on him too.

He was down here under the pretence that he was working on an important project that he didn't want anyone else to see. However, other than exploding something from time to time and laughing manically so the others didn't get suspicious, all he was doing was eating an enormous bar of chocolate. He was trying to convince himself that it was true what Naani had said when David had blown her off to go surfing- he may not have a stable love life or a job or a balance in his savings account, but eating chocolate eased the pain.

Who was he kidding? Naani wasn't satisfied with just chocolate. She just has chronic toothache and large hips. He wasn't either. He hated being the gruff, masculine figure of the house. He had spent so many years of loneliness, having lost his parents and being exiled from his home planet, and then from many others until finally he was stranded on this island with only genetic experiments and a cross-dressing Plorgian for company. He loved the experiments- they were like his evil children, and Pleakley wasn't that bad once you got to know him, but he couldn't show his soft side to any of them. Sinking his head into his hands, he sobbed quietly, feeling disgusted at himself but unable to stop the flow of tears that had built up over 20 earth years.

Over the next few days, Jumba slowly lost weight at the same rate that Gantu and Reuben gained it. Jeeba missed working in her diner, and was constantly cooking a stream of delicious food. She was trying to work up to when she felt ready to tell Reuben she didn't love him, but was finding it difficult, because she did love him. Just not in the same way. She couldn't bear the thought of breaking his heart, but neither could she bear the thought of being with someone she didn't love.

The next day, however, she decided that she had to talk to him about her feelings. It was eating away at her and she wanted it out in the open. She sent Gantu out on a quest to buy her some groceries, and Reuben started to kiss her on the couch, she pulled away.

"Honey, I need to talk to you."

"Yeah? What about? I'm asking Gantu about the new cooker, but I don't think he's willing to pay that much…"

"No, Reuben, I need to talk about something else." Reuben looked up. There was something about the tone in her voice that sounded as though this was urgent.

"This is really hard to say… I don't know how to put it…"

"Oh god. Are you breaking up with me?"

"I…"

"You told me you loved me." He gave her a look that made her heart ache.

"I do love you…"

"Let me guess. You're just not _in _love with me, right?" His tone had turned from pain to disgust. Tears were welling up in Jeeba's eyes, which he ignored in contempt.

"I'm sorry. I just can't do this to Jumba. I…"

"Hold it. You are breaking up with me for _Jookiba_? That fat, four-eyed freak?"

He almost grinned at how much the 'four-eyed' part stung her. Almost. He still couldn't bear to see her upset, but he was so angry. So unbelievably angry.

"Jumba saved me, Reuben. He tried so hard to make me love him, and he was so broken-hearted when I left him. I can't just abandon him after all he's done."

"And what about all I've done? I gave you a home to stay in. Hell, I was even going to save your sorry patooki, and for what? So you can build my hopes up and then spit in my face? You know what? Get out."

"Reuben, honey…"

"I said GET OUT!"

Gantu came running in at the shouting, carrying a brown bag that was spilling bananas and melons all over the floor.

"What's going on? 625, why are you shouting?"

Reuben whirled around, eyes blazing, almost frothing at the mouth. But when he spoke, his voice was soft, calm, but dangerous.

"Jeeba is leaving us, Gantu. Leaving me. For Jumba Jookiba."

"What?!?" Turning back to Jeeba, Reuben said one last thing before storming from the room, his voice cracking with the weight of the emotion in it.

"It's as though you're leaving me for my father."

He left Jeeba and Gantu alone, watching each other nervously. After the inevitable awkward silence, Gantu turned and left too, to find Reuben and try to comfort his friend. Jeeba broke down into tears and started to pack.

When the doorbell rang at Lilo's house, Pleakley came to the door. He was wearing his orange muumuu dress and sandals, and carrying a dustpan and brush. His smile fell when he saw who was at the door.

"Oh. Hi."

"Hey Pleakley, darling, could you call Jumba for me?"

"Why? Have you come to apologise for what you did to him? Breaking his heart, and such?"

"Yes. Yes I have".

"Oh. OK," he said, taken aback, "But you'd better be sorry," he hissed, as an afterthought.

She wandered in, placed her bags in the hall and went straight to the door of the laboratory, knocking vigorously.

Eventually she heard the familiar voice, muffled by the thick, blast-proof door. She had longed to hear that voice, and it brought tears to her eyes.

"Pleakley, I am telling you, no vacuuming in evil genius laboratory. I am being depressed enough as it is."

"Jumba, we need to talk."

"Jeeba?"

She heard the heavy lumbering of Jumba walking to the door. After a series of bleeps, it slid open.

Jumba had changed so much. He had lost weight, but not that much. Instead his muscle seemed diminished, and his eyes were shrunken and red from tears. He looked so… small. Comparing him to the healthy and chubby Reuben, and to the strong and powerful Gantu, Jeeba realised that no matter how much she had hurt Reuben, Jumba needed her more.

"Jumba? I needed to talk to you so badly. Ever since the restaurant I've felt terrible and I'm so, so sorry. I love you."

Jumba sighed dismissively.

"Pah. You are loving 625. Not me. A genetic experiment over its creator."

"I've broken up with Reuben, Jumba. I've broken his heart for you. I need you."

Looking up, Jumba realised that her eyes were swollen and rimmed with red. They were shining with love and narrowed with pain. A moment of understanding flashed between them, and a smile flickered across his face for the first time in days.

Jumba called Stitch, and instructed him to assist Jeeba with moving her things in. Lilo laughed in relief to see her Uncle Jumba so happy again, and Pleakley sighed. He supposed that seeing Jumba happy was better than the alternative, and decided that he would just have to get used to being second to Jeeba. She was a lovely girl and more than deserved someone like Jumba. He deserved someone like her, too.

Jeeba had been accepted into the family very quickly, because everyone loved her. For Naani, she was the exact person she had been waiting for, because she was a much more experienced babysitter than Pleakley, and a safer one than Jumba. Lilo and Stitch quickly fell in love with her cookies, and Pleakley liked the help with the housework. Everyone preferred her cooking to that of Naani's. She soon felt at home, and had almost forgotten about Reuben. Almost.

She often helped Jumba in the lab, and once she knocked a small, compact computer off a table. It opened to reveal a computerised encyclopaedia that contained information on the experiments. Browsing through it, she came across 625- Reuben. As his image appeared on the screen, she snapped it shut violently. She didn't want to think about him. She wanted to concentrate on now, where she had Jumba and a family to think of. Jumba turned around with a test tube full of frothing violet chemicals, and she analysed it. She never had anything to do at Reuben's place. This was home.

Reuben wandered into the kitchen and grinned. Jeeba was preparing sandwiches and putting them in brown paper bags for the kids to take to school. The children were sitting on the floor and playing with model spaceships. They were cute, tubby kids, and they both had four eyes. As he walked in, they looked up and squealed "Daddy!" Jeeba turned around, beaming. But none of them were looking at him. They looked straight through him to a figure in the doorway. He slowly turned around to see Jumba standing behind him, laughing manically. Waking up in a cold sweat, Reuben groaned. He had been having dreams like this for days now, and hadn't been getting much sleep. He turned over and hid under the covers from the world. He wanted to shut out everything. Why had she left him? What had he done wrong?

Jumba walked out of the lab with a spring in his step. Jeeba was cleaning up in there, and he had gone to watch 'Godzilla' on TV. He picked up Lilo, whirling her around like a spaceship, caught the vase that Naani had knocked off the table, and thrust the flowers into Pleakley's arms. He had been acting like this for three days now, and it was as though he had created a successful experiment. Stitch wandered in with a huge bowl of popcorn, and he, Lilo and Jumba sat on the couch to watch the movie. David arrived to pick up Naani, and Pleakley went to bed.

Half way through the movie, Jeeba came up and snuggled up to Jumba on the couch, resting against his side whilst he put his arm around her. Lilo and Stitch sighed and jumped off to sit on the floor. The couple slid down to occupy the rest of the sofa, and, due to Jumba's great weight, Jeeba ended up rolling on top of him. The 'children' were too busy watching the film to notice, so she didn't bother moving.

Instead, she started to feed him popcorn, almost absent-mindedly as they watched the Japanese actors running in terror. Jumba laughed happily, Lilo sat dreaming up a game to play with Stitch, who was pretending to attack a large, green plant like Godzilla. Maybe this was what her future held, she and Jumba watching films whilst their children played. She realised that Jumba was looking at her, and that she had probably ignored him. She blushed purple, and he laughed, showing his large, tusk-like teeth.

Blissful evenings like this carried on for a few more days, but she kept finding her mind straying to Reuben. How was he? She hadn't seen him for almost three weeks, and she was worried about him. Eventually, under the pretence of getting groceries, she set off to visit him. She didn't need to go all the way to the ship, though, because she noticed Gantu in the grocery store, so she found herself going in anyway.

"Hey, Gantu," she said quietly, remembering how embarrassing their last conversation had been.

"Oh. It's you. Hi," he said quickly, trying to hurry off. She stood her ground though, and continued.

"How are you? I haven't seen you in ages?"

"Fine, thanks," he replied, rather stiffly, "You?"

"I'm fine. How about Reuben?"

At this, Gantu glared at her, and there was a devastating look in his cold, black eyes.

"He's not doing well. He's ill, Jeeba. And you've made him ill."

"What?"

"He hasn't eaten in days. I've been trying to get him to, but he keeps refusing. He's lost his appetite, apparently."

"No!"

"He won't eat any of his favourite sandwiches. Not even baloney."

"Not even baloney?" Jeeba's voice had become extremely concerned, and her face contorted with worry.

That night, at dinner, Jeeba looked around at her family at the table, and wondered what to do. She had presumed that Jumba needed her more, he had looked so sad, but he had so many people to look after him, he didn't need another one. Reuben had no one. No one but Gantu, and he sounded seriously ill. Nobody noticed that she wasn't eating much, and she left the table early to pack her bag. In the middle of the night she snuck out through the door and set off in the pitch black to the spaceship. Hammering on the door, she shivered in the cold night air until Gantu, looking sleepy and annoyed opened it.

He looked even more annoyed when he saw who his visitor was, and was about to slam the door when she stood in the frame and spoke to him.

"I've come to help you look after Reuben." Without a word, he let her in and took her bag into a small room. Throwing a blanket and mattress on the floor, he grunted that she could see him in the morning, and stomped off to his bed.

The night had been restless and cold without Jumba, and Jeeba awoke not feeling much more refreshed than when she had fallen asleep. She washed in cold water, slung on some clothes and went into the kitchen, preparing the fried sandwich that she had on her first day there. Placing it on a tray with a mug of hot water and lemon juice, she set off to Reuben's room. Upon entering the room, she realised how dark it was, and she squinted over to the bed where a small form lay hunched up under the covers, cloaked in shadow. However, when the form looked up, she nearly dropped the tray, and stood there in shock.

Reuben had been sleeping. That was what he spent most of his time doing lately, because it took him away from the painful reality that he had to endure when he was awake. He sniffed the air, and he could smell the delicious aroma of a fried breakfast sandwich. Coming back to reality, he slid out of the covers and heard a gasp. It was familiar, and he opened his eyes sharply to see Jeeba standing in the doorway, holding a tray.

Jeeba couldn't believe how ill he looked. His once thick, golden fur was patchy and thin, and his previously adorably, chubby form was quaking, weak and so unbelievably thin that she could see all of his bones. He looked up at her angrily.

"Well, well, well. Look who's come crawling back." He didn't look to be in a position to be saying this, so she tried to ignore it.

"Reuben, honey, Gantu told me you were ill, so I came to look after you. I've made you breakfast. Do you want to eat some, baby?"

"Don't you dare patronise me. So Gantu brought you back here, did he?"

"No, of course he didn't. He's really angry that I'm here. But he's worried about you, and so am I. That's why I came back."

"As if it is. You came back because you argued with Jookiba and now you have nowhere to go."

"I left Jumba in the middle of the night to come and see you. He's going to be so upset when he wakes up, but I came here to make sure you're OK. And I'm not leaving until you 're OK either."

After a brief argument, Reuben somehow found himself lying on Jeeba's lap whilst she fed him the breakfast with a maternal love in her eyes. If only the love wasn't motherly, he would feel complete again. It would have to do for now. Gantu looked in, relieved to see his old friend eating, and Jeeba looked up, beaming. As Gantu slipped away to get his own breakfast, Jeeba turned back to Reuben.

"I'm there for you, honey."

_But what will Jumba think? And does Gantu still love Jeeba? Part three coming soon!_


	3. Let It Be

Let It Be

"C'mon, Reuben, you've got to eat! Doesn't he, Gantu?"

Gantu looked up and grunted before turning back to the TV. The last few days had been hell for him, because the woman that he had fought with his best friend over to the point of an explosion was staying with them and had been for two days now, and yet neither of them could have her. She had made herself at home, and was wandering around in a dressing gown with her hair dripping wet from the shower, feeding Reuben like a baby with a spoon.

Suddenly, a booming noise echoed throughout the spaceship. Someone was pounding on the door with what sounded like a hammer, although the three inside knew it was a giant purple fist. Sure enough, when Gantu pressed the button to open it, Jumba was standing there, with Lilo and Stitch peering inside.

"Jookiba? What do you want?"

"I am thinking you are knowing what I want, Gantu. Is Jeeba in there?"

"Yes. She's in the kitchen with Reuben."

With an angry yell, Jumba started to run for the door, and it took all of Gantu's strength to stop him.

Jeeba's own voice called back and she appeared at the door, sopping hair hanging over her shoulders and a yellow dressing gown draped over her body. Stitch wolf whistled, but Jumba turned and fixed him with such a glare that even Stitch stopped and put his ears down submissively.

"Jumba, oh, thank goodness you've come, I need your help."  
"What the hell are you doing here, Jeeba? You are leaving in the dead of night and not telling anyone, and then you are turning up here?"

"Jumba, I haven't left you. It's Reuben. 625. He's really sick, and I need you to help me look after him."

Chuckling to himself, Jumba turned around on the spot as he spoke, flailing his arms as though he was losing the last shreds of sanity in his genius brain.

"You are expecting me to believe that? You are failing, Jeeba."

"No, she's telling the truth," cut in Gantu, defending Jeeba with such conviction that Jumba stopped to consider him.

"Really?"

"Yes. She's telling the truth. Come in and I'll prove it to you."

As Gantu stood aside to allow him to enter, Jeeba smiled gently at Lilo and Stitch, inviting them to follow. They paused at the kitchen door. Jumba looked up.

"Well? What is wrong with my creation? He is immune to most Earth diseases. Cannot be getting sick."

"He's made himself sick. I'll warn you now that he really doesn't look good, so try not to look shocked." Although Jumba snorted in disbelief, when he went in, his gasp was audible to Lilo and Stitch. Jeeba walked in, and they peered timidly around the doorframe.

Reuben was lying on the worktop next to the sink. His whole frame trembled weakly and he didn't look up even when he heard the sound of his creator's voice. Lilo started to cry silently, tears dripping off her round cheeks onto the floor and Stitch put his arm around her gently. The once chubby form in front of them seemed unreal. Reuben was so painfully thin that every single bone in his body was visible, and his ribs jutted out at scary angles through paper-thin skin. His eyes, once bright and mocking were half closed and seemed slightly glazed over, as though he was only half conscious. He was.

Jeeba looked at Jumba, and watched as he tried to take it all in. Genuine concern and worry furrowed his brow and made his eyes glisten, and he walked slowly up to his experiment as though Reuben was about to explode.

"6…625? What have you done to yourself?"

"Get…lost…" Reuben's voice was no longer bright and sarcastic, and it was a struggle for him to talk.

Jumba walked out of the room and spoke to Jeeba in a hurried tone.

"Alright. We will be staying to look after him. I am going back to the house to get medicine. 625 is looking to be 10 of original body weight. Is not looking good. Unless he is eating soon he may not be making it."

Jeeba threw herself around Jumba and squeezed him in a tight embrace, although when she pulled away he could see tears in her eyes.

She ran into the kitchen and gently lifted up Reuben, wincing at the ease that she did so with. She carried him into his room and put him down on the bed, trying to coax him into eating yoghurt.

"I'm not… a baby," he began as she loaded up a spoon with strawberry, "I'm…" but as he opened his mouth, she shoved in the spoon, and he swallowed in indignation. This continued until the whole pot had been consumed.

She heard the commotion of Jumba returning, and walked quickly out of the room to meet him. She saw, with amused realisation that he had arrived with not medicine, but 062; Frenchfry. The sweet little French experiment who had prepared the meal she had eaten with Jumba on _that_ night. Grinning, Jumba instructed Frenchfry to prepare meals that were half nutrition, half empty calories, explaining to Jeeba that if they fattened up Reuben with the normal unhealthy food then it would cause him to become too fat, but with some nutrition he would return to normal size.

"Will just take longer, is all."

The next day it was Frenchfry who prepared breakfast, not Jeeba. Jeeba took the meal in to Reuben, who glanced up at her sadly. He felt humiliated, having to be force fed by _her_, the one that he loved but couldn't touch. It was so degrading. His only compensation was that whenever she looked at him he could see the concern in her eyes, showing love for him even though she was in love with Jumba. And that Gantu also couldn't touch her either.

So when she came up to him with a simple slice of toast with butter and jam, he decided to eat it without being fed it. He picked it up and munched down on it, and to his surprise he found himself asking for another slice. This continued for several days, until finally, at the end of the week, he was almost his original weight. He looked as though he had been on a diet, and the brightness had returned to his eyes, the colour to his skin. Jumba looked proudly at his experiment. Knowing that he was healthy made him feel better, even if they had their differences. He was still his creation, no matter what.

That was the day that Jumba and Jeeba left the spaceship. They weren't the only ones who left. Reuben had noticed how odd Gantu had been acting since Jeeba had moved back in. The looks of longing on his face were all too obvious, and he had heard him sobbing once, behind the door of his room. This pathetic display had filled Reuben with disgust, but a few minutes after the couple had left, Gantu had leapt into the two man shuttle.

"What the heck are you doing, Gantu? You promised Jeeba you'd 'look after' me."

"Pah. You don't need me to look after you. I'm leaving."

"You're exiled on Earth. You can't go anywhere! No planet will let you in!"

"So I'll be put in prison. See if I care."

Before Reuben could do anything, the shuttle had taken off and Gantu was gone. Just like that. Not quite believing what had happened, Reuben sat down in the middle of the floor and started to make a sandwich. Bacon and Raisin. Gantu's favourite.

Back at the house, everyone was out but Jumba and Jeeba. The note on the fridge said that Naani was talking to Lilo's teacher, Pleakley was out shopping and that Lilo and Stitch were down at the beach. They sat on the couch in silence for a few minutes, before Jumba broke it awkwardly.

"I thought you'd left." Jeeba saw a flash of sadness in his eyes, and sighed.

"I wouldn't ever leave you, Jumba."

"You did, though."

"I feel terrible for that, Jumba, you know I do. I came back to you, though. I couldn't live with Reuben because I don't love him the way I love you."

He turned to her, and slowly and nervously leaned in. Their lips brushed for a few seconds, and then they were kissing. They hadn't kissed for ages, because Jeeba had been too worried about Reuben. She had been longing for Jumba, and the next few minutes felt like a second as she lay on his bulky stomach on the couch. Neither of them noticed Pleakley walking in with shopping bags. He stood in the doorframe, watching jealously.

Pleakley sat on his bed that night, listening to the announcements about intergalactic affairs on Jumba's old computer. The last one made him forget the muffled laughter coming from Jumba's new room, and he concentrated properly.

"…and finally, former Captain Gantu of the galactic alliance was arrested today as he tried to force his way onto his home planet. The captain was exiled on the planet Earth several years ago when…"

Wanting to tell Jumba, Pleakley lay down on the bunk and flicked off the computer. The room seemed so quiet without Jumba's snores, and he could hear the scuffling noises coming from across the hall. He hoped to Plorgiat that Lilo was asleep and couldn't hear what he could. As a couple of tears dripped down his face, he turned over, placed a pillow over his head and tried to get to sleep.

_Watch out for chapter four coming soon. If you've liked these stories so far or you think I can improve them, please submit a review!_


	4. Bad Day

Bad Day

The whole room was full of candles and flowers. Jeeba gasped as she walked in, and saw Jumba standing by the couch. He grinned at her, and she walked over to him, smiling back.

"What's all this for?" she asked touching his arm gently. He slowly bent down onto one knee. Her eyes widened as he pulled out of his pocket a small red box. Inside was a beautiful golden ring, inset with a huge diamond, which he had made himself with his carbon compressor, apparently.

"Jeeba, will you…"

"Yes!" Her eyes were glistening and she was beaming. Today was the happiest day of her life.

That evening was a blur. She spent it dreaming of her future, dreaming of spending it with Jumba. She imagined it all, the wedding, children, living in a small house, with a lab in the basement for Jumba… Perfect. But of course, it could never be like that.

The next day, over breakfast, as the whole family sat down to eat pancakes Jumba broke the news.

"We, that is, Jeeba and me, we are having big news." He said this with such conviction that even Stitch looked up in interest.

"Jeeba is to be marrying me." The mixed reactions around the table were confusing. Lilo beamed, happy that she would have Aunt Jeeba around the house forever. Stitch winked at Jumba, and carried on stuffing not only his, but Lilo and Pleakley's pancakes into his mouth. Nani smiled and congratulated them both, excitedly exclaiming to Jeeba that they had to choose a dress. But Pleakley had disappeared. Only Jumba noticed his absence, and he said nothing because of the excitement at the table. But as soon as the meal was over, he went off to try and find his little yellow friend.

Reuben was walking down the sandy path to his cousin's house to borrow some cheese for a monster sandwich he was constructing. He was embarrassed to see that he was slightly out of breath, but he had put on some weight since Gantu had left. He had listened to a report saying that Gantu had been arrested, and was worrying about him a lot, so he had been eating more to try and fill the void. The big dummy was his oldest friend since he had been dehydrated from his experiment pod, and he meant a lot to him. He was knocked out of the way by Pleakley, who was running away with his head in his hands.

As he came closer to the door he heard Jeeba and Nani laughing and chatting.

"What's up, ladies," he said as he walked into the room. He noticed that they were looking at a catalogue of dresses. White dresses.

"Hello, Reuben! Stitch is in the kitchen." Reuben opened his mouth to inquire about ingredients, but was stopped in his tracks. "As is the cheese."

He grinned and walked through to find his cousin. Jeeba considered Reuben curiously for a minute. He had gone from gaining weight, to starving himself, to gaining weight again. What was going on? He only changed his eating habits when something big was going on, and she intended to find out.

Jumba plodded heavily into the kitchen, in search of a snack before he returned to his research into a cure for the common cold. Noticing Reuben, and the extra weight, he couldn't help but tease him.

"Ah, 625! Jeeba is giving you invitation for wedding, no?" He grinned as Reuben looked up sharply.

"Wedding?"

"Yes. Oh she is not telling you yet? Probably she is not wanting you to gain any more weight," he laughed, showing his tusk like teeth and purple gums. He could see he had touched a nerve as his creation's eyes flashed, and spines began to be retracted on his back.

"Hmmm. So, what are you up to, is it two tonnes now or three?" he asked, conversationally. This time it was Jumba's eyes that narrowed, and Reuben smirked to see his hands forming into enormous fists. Stitch slipped hurriedly out of the room to try and get Jeeba to break up what looked to be a fight in the making.

"At least I am not starving myself when I am being dumped, eh?" Whilst Reuben's face fell, he couldn't resist making an even more cutting remark.

"Thank God, or you'd be dead by now. I notice even Pleakley isn't looking at you in the same way anymore. So when Jeeba dumps you, you won't even have your boyfriend for company, _eh_?"

Jeeba and Nani dropped their catalogues and cups as they heard the ear splitting bellow, and crashing in the kitchen, just as Stitch ran through the door to find them. The roar was so deep and so loud that Pleakley heard it from half a mile away at the mall. He looked out of the window, expecting lightning.

As the women sprinted after Stitch into the room, followed by Lilo, the scene before them was so unbelievable that they all froze simultaneously. Reuben, with extra arms and spines retracted was standing atop the fridge, a threatening growl in his throat and a slash on his side. The table was smashed into wood chippings in a corner.

"C'mon then, Jookiba. I dare you," he taunted, mockingly. Across the room, Jumba towered above everyone, seething. No one had ever seen him like this, ever seen him as a seven and a half foot wall of unstoppable muscle and mouth-foaming rage. Jeeba stepped back in alarm as he spoke in a dangerous, violent voice totally unlike his own.

"You are thinking you are so great with your powers and your sandwiches and your sarcastic voice. You are forgetting that I am creating you. I am knowing the way to shut down your programme permanently." Reuben paled for a second, and that second was all Jumba needed. He charged across the kitchen and packed such a mind-numbing blow that Reuben smashed clear through the wall behind him. As Lilo protested, terrified, Jumba sped outside, practically ripping the door off its hinges as he did so. But Reuben was waiting for him, holding a tree in all four hands and smacking him in the stomach like a battering ram, ignoring the squeals and screams of his audience.

Jumba flew over the heads of the paralysed onlookers, smashing through Nani's bedroom window. He recovered quickly, getting up only a little dazed, and charged out of the door again, taking Reuben by surprise. He placed a huge foot on the experiment's chubby stomach and looked down with menacing eyes, laughing bitterly and manically at how terrified the experiment was. He could have simply crushed the cowering alien into a lump of mangled flesh there and then, and was about to, but…

Jeeba screamed a heart-wrenching, high pitched note that somehow connected with what seemed to be the only shred of sanity left in Jumba's rage-filled head. She leapt at him and tugged ineffectively at his enormous arm, begging him to stop.

"Jumba, please! Stop and look at what you're doing! Reuben is one of your children… You created him. You gave him life. You have the power to create a living thing, but you're throwing all of that away and destroying it instead? Stop! Please! For _our_ sake, if not Reuben's."

Jumba looked again at the trembling yellow form on the floor. Tears were actually stinging Reuben's fear-filled eyes, and they stung Jumba's too. This was one of his experiments; his beautiful children that he had created. Slowly he moved his foot away from Reuben's chest, and gently placed it on the floor. Lilo started to cry in relief, and Stitch ran over to his cousin. Jumba turned to Jeeba, but she looked away and ran to Nani instead, now crying uncontrollably. Nani glared at him, but he could tell she too was nervous, and she stepped back when he moved in her direction.

Jumba turned again to Lilo, trying to seek comfort in the little girl's confident face. But when he saw her he felt even worse, as she looked up with teary fearful eyes and cowered into Stitch's chest. Stitch just growled at him, although his ears were set back a sign of worry and nervousness. He couldn't believe it. His family, his fiancé and his creations were all terrified of him. He looked down at his hands, and to his horror they were still curled into fists. Only Jeeba's sobbing could be heard, and each sob pulled at his heartstrings.

Pleakley couldn't believe that he was comforting the person that had stolen Jumba from him, but yet here he was, sitting on a bed with his arms round her. Jeeba had been crying for two and a half hours, and Nani and a confused Pleakley had been trying their hardest to console her, to no avail. As Pleakley had sat with her, he had begun to realise why Jumba loved her so much. She was beautiful and delicate, and whilst she sat there crying she looked so small that he just wanted to protect her. He supposed that this was how Jumba felt, and also that Reuben wasn't as innocent as they had been led to believe- Jumba had once reacted badly to insults, but he had kept his anger under control since he had lived on Earth.

When he explained this to Jeeba, she looked up and wiped her eyes. She realised that Pleakley was right. She knew Jumba, but the enraged, dangerous maniac she had just seen was not him. She kissed Pleakley's cheek and went downstairs to talk to him. On the way she passed Reuben, who was sitting on the couch with Stitch. He still looked shaken, and she could see that the gash on his side was still bleeding. They seemed to be having a conversation, but it Stitch's language, not English. She left them to it, and keyed in the code for the lab.

Jumba was sitting in the lab, crying. He had only done this one other time, and that was also because of Jeeba. What had become of him? If his father could see him now he would be disgusted. He heard the door slide open and leapt up, wiping his eyes violently.

"Jumba? I need to talk to you," Jeeba called nervously from the top stair. She walked down the steps and moved closer to him. He didn't respond.

"Have you been crying?" she asked, for she had never seen him cry before.

"No! Jumba Jookiba never cries. It is you who has been crying. Because of me. Because I attacked 625."

The way that he breezily stated these facts upset Jeeba. It was as though he didn't care. It was as though nothing had happened.

Jumba turned towards her and could see she was still nervous.

"You are still scared of me. You are worried I will attack you as well."

"No I'm not!" Jeeba lied, "I love you. You wouldn't ever attack me."

Jumba took a large, sudden step towards her, and she backed away quickly, uttering a small, terrified yelp. Jumba laughed bitterly and turned away.

"Jumba, I can't live with you, not for a while. I just need to feel safe around you first. I can't marry someone I feel nervous around." She removed her ring, and placed it down onto the worktop he was leaning against.

With that, she walked away, leaving Jumba to break down once again.

Reuben gladly offered Jeeba a room on the ship, and when she arrived there she found out why. As she walked in, she called out to Gantu.

"Hello? Gantu? I'm staying here for a while, I hope you don't mind." However, there was no answer. She turned to Reuben, who was looking down at his feet sadly.

"Where's Gantu, Reuben?" They sat down and he began to explain.

Living on the ship without Gantu was very quiet. Jeeba had spent the past week worrying about him, about how he was coping in prison. But there was nothing that they could do. Visits were seldom allowed except to family members, and Jeeba was the only one who was actually allowed to leave Earth. She also had Jumba to think about, and she did. Every second of every day she thought about him, and wondered how he was getting on. A month passed, and she still wasn't settled at Reuben's place, although he was used to her living with him. In fact, he had a surprise in store for her.

Reuben had decided that if Jeeba had stayed here with him for a month without even mentioning Jumba then she must have stopped thinking about him, stopped loving him. Jeeba was very close with him still, even after Jumba's proposal, so he thought that he was in for a chance with her, as they had been living together a while now. Having the company meant that he had more things to do and he had lost the weight he had gained when Gantu left. He had been flirting 'innocently' with Jeeba for a while now, and she often returned the signals. So tonight he was moving in for the kill.

Jeeba was reading a magazine, which was unusual for her at this time, because she should have been preparing dinner. Reuben had offered to cook, in order to "give her a break for a change". Thinking it a nice gesture, she agreed, and settled down on the couch. When Reuben called her to dinner she stepped into the dining room and gasped. It was full of candles and flowers. The table was set for two with candles in the middle. Reuben leant casually against a chair.

"What's all this for?" she asked, and then she froze with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.

"You'll see," he replied, oblivious to the look on her face.

She sat down worriedly, and tried to smile as Reuben poured some champagne into a crystal flute. Before today there were no crystal glasses on the ship. Not very encouraging. When Reuben placed a plate of spaghetti and meatballs in front of her she almost burst into tears. Was he mimicking Jumba on purpose? He then stood up.

"I was going to wait until after dinner, but I don't think I can."

Jeeba moaned slightly, but he didn't seem to hear her. He bent down onto one knee and produced a ring that looked the same as Jumba's only platinum, not gold.

"Will you marry…" but that was as far as he got, because she shoved her chair backwards and ran from the room, locking herself in her bedroom.

She sank down onto her bed and started sobbing. What was she meant to do? Since she had arrived on this planet, she had been with three different partners. One had been locked up, one had starved himself, and the other had gone crazy and attacked one of his 'children'. It was all her fault and she didn't know what to do. Should she vow to spend her life with one, only to see some terrifying result on the other? Should she just leave? Her stream of thoughts was broken by the sound of Reuben cleaning up in the kitchen, muttering angrily to himself.

"Stupid… so unbelievably stupid… what made you think she'd pick you over Jookiba… made a fool of yourself…"

She sighed. Reuben could tell her feelings before she could. She couldn't pick him over Jumba because she was still in love with Jumba, no matter what he did. She started to pack, the same way that she had done four times already during her stay on Hawaii. When Reuben saw her struggling her way out of her room with her bags, his heart sank.

"Look, Jeeba, I screwed up, alright? I'm sorry. Please stay here."

"Honey, I am so flattered that you want to marry me. Really, I am. But I'm still engaged to Jumba…"

"But not married. So technically, I was still in with a chance."

She smiled at his determination, but she still couldn't stay.

"I still love him, darling. I love you. But I love Jumba more."

"But I love you. More than anything."

"Even sandwiches?"

Reuben blinked and paused for a second, and then grinned.

"Yup. Even more than sandwiches. Well… almost."

She leant in and they kissed. Reuben sighed when they broke away.

"Do you want some help with your bags?"

Jeeba beamed at him.

Jumba looked up sharply when he heard the doorbell chime, in the same way that he had done for the past month. He doubted it would be Jeeba, but he could still live in hope.

"I'll get it!" trilled Pleakley, clattering over to the door on his three stubby little legs. His face fell when he opened the door, as it had done once before.

"Oh. It's you. Again."

Jumba looked up.

"Who. Who is at door, Pleakley?" he called, anxiously.

"Well, Jumba, I don't know. I'd have said it was your fiancé, but it can't be because _she_ left you!" he called back venomously. Jumba leapt off the couch and sprinted to the door, pushing aside a furious Pleakley.

"Jeeba? I am sorry about Pleakley, he is good at interfering where he is not needed," he said pointedly. Pleakley shuffled off miserably.

"What is 625 doing here? He is not moving in as well, I hope?"

Reuben glared up at his creator.

"What makes you think she's moving back in?"

"Reuben!" hissed Jeeba, but Jumba just chuckled.

"And I suppose you are using her suitcase to carry your sandwiches in, are you?"

Jeeba turned around and took her bags from Reuben, giving him a peck on the cheek as she did so. When he turned and left, Jeeba leapt upon a surprised Jumba and squeezed him in a tight hug. They sat down to talk.

"You are coming back for good now?" asked Jumba as they sat opposite each other on the couch.

"As long as I can trust you, then yes."

"And can you still be trusting me?"

Smiling, Jeeba replied "Let's see, shall we?"

Jumba reached into the breast pocket on his shirt and pulled out the ring. He had been keeping it next to his heart. He gently picked up her hand and slid it tenderly onto her finger. Then they started to kiss.

_Please review. Look out for the final chapter of Jeeba Bessotria, coming soon! _


	5. A Happy Ending

A Happy Ending

Pleakley, Nani, Jumba and Jeeba were all sitting around the (hastily repaired) kitchen table discussing wedding invitations.

"Jumba, I really think I ought to invite my family. You haven't even met my parents, and we're getting married in a month!"

"But we are also inviting 626 genetic experiments. Are you not thinking that catering bills will be tad expensive?"

Jeeba laughed, and had a sudden stroke of genius.

"But can't Frenchfry and Reuben do the catering? And we can give them…erm…VIP seats or something?"

"062 is fine, but 625? Other than sandwiches, what can he be making?"

"Sandwiches! For the buffet, you see."

Jumba grunted. He couldn't say why he didn't want Reuben at their wedding, because he really wanted to make things work between him and Jeeba. He still didn't trust Reuben around her, although he trusted Jeeba around him. He just wanted their special day to be perfect, unlike his previous arranged marriage.

And so the long, tedious arrangements were made. Calls were made to Jeeba's family, and they all agreed to come, even distant relations, as was the Cupidine tradition. Evenings were spent looking through the family album that she had tucked in her suitcase, so that Jumba and Pleakley were familiar with their guests (and in-laws). Jeeba's mother was an exceptionally beautiful woman, but she wasn't the same as her daughter. She didn't have the same figure. This Jumba attributed to the Quelta Quanian in her genes- combining stunning looks with a curvy figure to create, well, a Quelta Cupidian, he supposed. Her father was a well-known Quelta Quanian, one of the most successful and richest to come from his planet, in fact. However, he had taken Jeeba's mother's name at marriage, although this was not a tradition. Venutri and Joltrad Bessotria. Mother and Father.

Jeeba had no brothers and sisters, which was unusual on her planet, as Cupidians always had children in twos. Again, this was put down to genes. However, she had a long string of cousins, just like Stitch, as Lilo pointed out, and all 24 were coming to the wedding, even though she only knew 10 of them, and only kept in touch with 4.

Catering arrangements were made, and Frenchfry was more than happy to do the job, whilst Reuben was honoured that his sandwich making skills would be used at Jeeba's wedding. That night, Jeeba lay on top of Jumba in bed. She looked down at him, and grinned.

"There's another tradition that I didn't tell you about. My mother will expect you to honour it."

"Oh?" Jumba was pleasantly curious now because of the look in her eyes.

"After the wedding, the bride has to become pregnant."

Jumba coughed, jerking Jeeba up and down as he did so. She rolled off, laughing.

"Looks like you're going to have more than 626 children now."

It was an interesting thought. Jeeba suddenly looked up.

"Honey, if I marry you will I be Reuben's mother?"

"I…don't know."

The next morning, Jeeba went off to find Stitch.

"Stitch? Do you think of Jumba as your father?"

"Naga. Uncle Jumba."

"So I would be your Aunt Jeeba? What about Aunt Pleakley?"

"Divorce."

"So, Aunt Pleakley and Uncle Jumba are divorced now?"

Stitch nodded, and went back to eating the jar of pickles that he had found in the fridge. Maybe that was why Pleakley had been acting upset recently.

A week later, Jeeba's dress arrived. Whilst Pleakley complained that he could have made a better one, he wasn't even kidding himself. It was beautiful, and Jumba had bought her a surprise- a beautiful gossamer veil. He had obviously read her favourite Earth book- _Jane Eyre_ as inspiration. She could only hope he didn't have a crazy wife in his attic, she thought, with a chuckle. Nani started to cry when she emerged from the bedroom wearing it. She looked so beautiful. If only that could be her and David.

The big day finally arrived. A 'bonder' from Cupidine was booked, and he was flown over with Jeeba's extensive family especially. The ceremony was set on the beach, a beautiful arch decorated with pink roses set out for them to stand under. Five enormous buffet tables were set out, Frenchfry sitting neat them proudly. There was another one loaded with hundreds of sandwiches, but Reuben wasn't near it. Because in a fit of generosity, Jumba had asked him, along with Pleakley and Stitch, to be one of his best men (because Quelta Quanians always had more than one). Jumba stood nervously at the front, in a large black suit with a pink rose in the buttonhole. Pleakley and Stitch had white roses in their buttonholes, and Stitch even had a top hat.

Jeeba's family sat at one side of the aisle, the experiments in the other. Then, the music started to play. Drowsy trotted down the aisle with Jeeba' youngest cousin (only 3 Earth Years old), scattering rose petals. When they got to the end, they went separate ways to sit on seats at the ends of the front rows. Then, like a mirage in a desert, Jeeba appeared, dressed all in white. She held a pink bouquet, and her dress trailed along the floor behind her like a puddle of milk, giving her the appearance that she was floating. Holding her arm was her father, Joltrad, smiling proudly at the thought of his daughter marrying another Quelta Quanian. Behind her, dressed up in pink were Lilo, Angel and Nani, Jeeba's bridesmaids and maid of honour.

Everyone was silent. She looked breathtaking, and Jumba's mouth was left hanging open as she glided down the aisle. They said their vows, and kissed in front of the clapping, crying audience. Jeeba turned around and threw her bouquet, and a huge scrum of desperate women followed. However, it was not to be. Reuben turned away from the buffet with a sandwich, which was knocked from his hands to the floor by the flying bouquet. He was left holding the pink flowers, with many pairs of angry female eyes glaring at him. And one angry Plorgian one. He threw it hurriedly to the scrabbling women, and then went off with Pleakley to stalk the bride and groom.

This stalking relationship, almost a friendship had grown between Reuben and Pleakley. They had an understanding, because each of them wanted one half of the newly-wed couple. However, there wasn't much to stalk, and they had to mingle with guests instead. Jumba was chatting happily with Joltrad as though they had known each other all their lives. Joltrad approved of his daughter's choice- another Quelta Quanian and an intelligent one at that. Jumba Jookiba was well known for being one of only 40 Quelta Quanians ever to go to university. Whether he was in exile and whether his experiments were a success were of no consequence. Pleakley ended up talking to Venutri about Jumba. He was trying to convince her that he wasn't a good choice for her daughter, but it seemed to be having the opposite effect, and she was under the impression that if he made her daughter happy, he was good enough for her.

Jeeba was chatting happily with her own cousins. The female ones were always fun to gossip with, and there was always something going on with the male ones as well. She spotted her high-school girlfriend Cherita and hurried over.

"Hey Cherita, I haven't seen you in ages? What's going on with you, anyway?"

"Well, for a start, Matrid is doing well in his modelling career." Matrid, Cherita's brother had been Jeeba's crush at high school.

"Really? Is he modelling for any big designers yet?"

"Not yet, but he's working his way up. He broke up with his boyfriend a couple of weeks ago, so he's been on 'rebound modelling'. _You_ know. Glamour and stuff."

"Boyfriend?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? He came out last year. Mum's been really supportive."  
"You don't say…"

Pleakley was drinking punch when Jeeba approached him.

"Hey, Pleakley! Do you remember when we were looking through the family album, seeing my cousin Matrid?"

"Oh, yes. He was the one with the wavy blond hair and the dreamy, I mean, brown eyes."

"Yes, that's the one. He wants to talk to you. He's a model, and I told him that you knew all of the major fashion agencies and you might be able to… fix him up with someone."

"Oh really?"

A voice that was not unlike his own answered back, taking him by surprise.

"Yes. I've heard a lot about you…"

After the party was over everyone started to go their separate ways. Reuben had taken a lot of numbers from various relations of Jeeba, but he liked one of them in particular. Jeeba had set them up, in fact. At the time he had felt as though she was mocking him, but Helinea was really sweet. He was on his way to thank Jeeba for offering to set them up, and eventually heard her voice coming from the hallway of Jumba's house. She was laughing. He was about to walk over when Jumba said something that Reuben didn't hear, but it made her laugh even more. He stood behind a doorway and watched silently.

Jumba was standing in front of Jeeba, his hands on her waist. She had her hands against his broad chest. They were kissing, and caressing each other. Then Jumba undid one of the buttons on the top she had changed into for the party.

"Now then," he smiled, "About that other tradition…" and they stumbled, giggling, into Jumba's bedroom. Reuben stood staring open mouthed at the door for a while, scratching the back of his neck. Then he set off home, clutching the pile of numbers he had been given tightly in his hands.

The next day was the start of the honeymoon, and Jumba had been given special permission to leave the planet for this time only. He had secretly recruited a few of his experiments to start constructing his wedding present to Jeeba, which would be ready for when they got back. It was a total secret, and only Lilo and Stitch knew what it was. But they would be in for a surprise when their Aunt and Uncle returned as well.

The honeymoon took longer than expected, because after they left Paridico, the planet of relaxation, Jeeba went back to her home planet and sold the diner. The money was to be converted to Earth currency by Cobra Bubbles. They stepped down from the Spaceship into Jumba's modified car and set off for home. As they approached, Jumba squeezed his wife's hand.

"They're HEEEEERRRREEEEE!!!!!!!" screamed Lilo when she saw the familiar hover car speeding recklessly up to the house. There was a clattering as everyone ran towards the door, including Reuben, who had also been contacted to say that they would be coming back today. Everyone ran out, and crowded round the car.

Jumba got out first, grinning at everyone, walking over to Jeeba's door with Lilo clinging to his leg in a huge hug. He opened the door and a hand was extended, which he grabbed, helping his wife out of the vehicle. Everyone gasped, and neither Pleakley nor Reuben could close their mouths. Because the woman that staggered out of the car had a stomach that stretched her tight-fitting top. She could barely walk from the huge bump that extended over her skirt's waistband. Nani was the first to react.

"Oh my God Jeeba, congratulations! When did this happen?"

Jeeba just smiled, and outstretched her arms to Lilo for a hug. Lilo grinned back and hugged her Aunt.

"Am I getting some cousins, just like Stitch?"

"Yes you are, Lilo," replied Jeeba, and she turned around and took a large bag out of the car. "Now, who wants presents?"

After the presents had been dished out, Reuben stood up. He had something to say.

"I had a call today. From Gantu." Everybody's heads shot up.

"He's been let out of prison, and he's coming back to Earth in six months. So, erm, that's like another present to me- I have my roommate back." He sat back down quietly.

Jumba stood up and cleared his throat.

"I would like to be taking this moment to be giving _you_ a present, Jeeba." He looked meaningfully at Lilo, who slipped out of the room with Stitch and returned with two large suitcases. Jumba handed one of them to Jeeba, who opened it with the air of a child opening a Christmas present. However, to her surprise, the case was simply filled with all of her old clothes. She looked up curiously.

"Why are all of my clothes in a suitcase? And why are all of yours in that one?"

"Come with me."

Everyone followed Jumba and he took them into the jungle of trees that was next to the house. Someone had recently built a path there. They walked along until they arrived at a small clearing. Well, it had been a clearing, but now there was a house built there. It had two stories, an attic, a garage and a pool from what they could see outside. Jumba grinned. His experiments had done a good job.

"You built us a house?" Jeeba couldn't believe it. She hadn't been expecting anything quite like this.

"Well, we couldn't be living with little girl and family forever. And this way we will still be close by." She hadn't thought about it like that either. When the children came along, there wouldn't be enough room at Nani's house. There was barely enough room as it was.

When they went inside, Jeeba found that all their possessions had been moved into the new house, and that it was very high-tech. Just as she had expected from Jumba, she supposed. She found her way into the kitchen and gaped. It was huge, and again, everything was just like in her diner on Cupidine, rather than the old-fashioned Earth equipment that she had been using. She made cups of coffee for everyone (except Stitch) and they sat down to talk to her new _Ohana_.

"Well, Jumba used the scanner, and it's twins. A girl and a boy. In another 2 months they'll be born." She smiled warmly at Jumba, but tried to avoid eye contact with Reuben. He seemed uncomfortable. She continued, "I'm going to name the girl and Jumba's going to name the boy- it's a Cupidine tradition. I can hardly wait."

Jumba grinned at Pleakley, who hadn't seemed upset about the babies. Maybe he was finally seeing sense. Or maybe, he thought suddenly, he was finally seeing someone. He asked him.

"Oh, yes, I'm in a relationship. Didn't I tell you? With one of Jeeba's cousins."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Mother's so happy."

"Which cousin?"

"The model. I really think we clicked on the first date…"

"The model is married. You are having an affair with a model? And a hot one, at that…"

"No, no… errrm, Matrid." Jumba laughed at the thought, but then saw Pleakley's face crumple.

"Matrid is male… oh. Yes, well, I… Good for you, Pleakley," he stuttered, patting his friend on the back and walking off awkwardly.

Jeeba was talking to Reuben about relationships as well.

"Reuben, I need to talk to you about something."

"What?" Reuben was looking embarrassedly at her pregnant belly, swollen and stretched. She looked so different.

"I've had calls from 10 of my cousins." Reuben shuffled uncomfortably in his chair.

"Ah, yes, I can explain…"

"Can you? Because they already did that. They all told me that you went out with them for one night, took them back to your place and never called them again. Some of them are really upset. In fact, Karmae had just come out of a messy divorce. She didn't think she could trust men again and you've confirmed that."

"Yes, well. I haven't had much experience with females, have I?"

"Well, surely you should understand that they have feelings? That they care about whether someone calls them? I want you to call them and apologise. Surely you liked at least one of them?"

"I did. I just had other people on my mind." He looked up at her meaningfully, but she glared at him.

"Come on, Reuben, we discussed this. I'm married now. I'm going to have Jumba's kids." Her voice had become icy, and she stood up and walked off without another word.

One month later, and nothing had improved Jeeba's mood. The babies were huge, probably due to there being a lot of Quelta Quanian in their parentage, and they hurt. She couldn't bend over, lay on her stomach, in fact she could barely walk. Jumba was being really sweet, but it didn't always help. He tried really hard, though. She was leaning uncomfortably against a kitchen counter, trying to reach into a cabinet. He reached down a glass for her, and then placed both of his mammoth hands over her swollen belly, completely engulfing it. He smiled as he felt the babies moving, kicking and turning inside.

"Is like they are kick-boxing, eh?" She smiled too, and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"I can't wait until they're born, Jumba. We can be a family."

This made his face brighten up.

"I've always wanted a family. Children and such. That is why I am creating experiments." Jeeba looked into his eyes adoringly and sighed. He was sensitive deep down.

Later that day the family came back round again. They dropped by almost every day to chat, as a lot of them missed Jumba. Today, Lilo wanted to talk about babies. Again. She had become very curious since her Aunt had become pregnant, as she didn't know much about the alien facts of life. The constant questions made Jumba very uncomfortable, so it was almost always down to Jeeba to explain.

"Jeeba, what's the Cupidine word for 'baby'?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well, you must have your own language. And how come you can speak English so well?"

"The Cupidine word is 'Cherub'. And we were taught alien languages at school."

At this, everyone looked up. Reuben scratched his neck thoughtfully.

"_Cherub_? C'mon, Jeeba, your species is like a walking advert for Valentines Day!"

"Do you actually know anything about what Valentines Day really is? Or how my species is related to it?"

Nobody, not even Pleakley, the Earth expert could say that they did. Well, except Jumba, but that was because he had asked that same question himself before. Jeeba sighed, knowing that she would have to explain it all again.

"Well, thousands of Earth years ago, the Cupidians decided that we needed to spread our religion to other planets. We worship the great God Cupid, and we needed more followers for our great deity," she said, a patriotic glint in her eyes, "however, the other planets didn't want our religion. So our King decided to conquer them instead, and force them to follow. We set out, led by the great warrior General Valentine. We had banners, depicting our God, so everyone knew we were fighting for him. We used arrows, the heads cast into our symbol of war, the Heart- because our method of killing was to shoot the heart. The arrows were full of a deadly chemical that slowly poisoned the victim. The sight of our General struck fear into the hearts of any army."

Jeeba paused to sip her coffee, well aware that there were many eyes watching her intently now. She continued.

"All went well, and we conquered many planets. Then we set out to conquer a tiny one with many inhabitants- Earth. We set out, now using a new type of machine that allowed our warriors to fly over the heads of our enemies. We were unstoppable. Well, we thought we were. Upon shooting the Earthlings, to our horror the chemicals reacted with hormones in their bodies. They released endorphins, making them feel as though they were in love. From there they adopted the Heart as their symbol of love, our God as a pathetic messenger from their own, our warriors as cherubs come to play matchmaker… they used the word having heard one of our soldiers say it. The day was named after our General. They made a mockery out of our wonderful planet, out of our God." Her voice had become angry and fast, alarming to Lilo and Nani. But she controlled herself and explained that every Cupidian tells this story to their children, and they all felt very strongly about their history. Everyone went home seeing Jeeba's species in a new light.

That night, Jeeba woke up to a stabbing pain in her abdomen. She could barely breathe. Staggering to her feet, she realised that the babies were on the way. A glance at the clock showed that it was 1:17AM. She tried to walk to Jumba's side of the bed, but another rush of pain made her stumble. She fell to her knees, leaning against the bed, moaning. Jumba turned over, snoring. He could sleep through anything. She couldn't reach over to him, so she shouted his name, louder, louder and louder. Eventually he stirred, and opened his eyes blearily. Jeeba wasn't lying next to him. He looked sleepily around, and then saw her, curled up painfully on the floor, shaking.

"Jeeba? What is wrong? What time is it?"

"The babies…" she gasped, but she couldn't say anything else, and started shuddering uncontrollably as wave after wave of pain shot up her spine. Jumba leapt into action, lifting her up easily in his arms and laying her on the bed, propping her up with pillows.

"Keep back straight. I am calling for help."

He hurried off to the phone and called Pleakley, telling him to get Nani and bring towels. He started to call Reuben, but paused. Should he ask him for help? He didn't want to, but he heard Jeeba groaning sickly in the next room, and pushed the buttons with his chubby fingers as fast as he could. He looked out of the window to see Pleakley running crazily and holding practically every towel they had in a huge pile that obscured his vision. He opened the door quickly, letting in Nani, Pleakley and Reuben.

"Where is little girl and 626?"

"They're coming with more towels" replied Pleakley. Jumba groaned, and Reuben looked up at him sleepily.

"I thought you said you'd done a scan and they'd be two months, not one?" he asked.

"Can I not be being wrong once with you people?" was Jumba's aggressive response, and he grabbed some towels and ran back to the bedroom.

Hours passed, and Jumba did all he could, to no avail. Nothing, it seemed, could get these kids out. They were just too big. Nani, Pleakley, Reuben, Lilo and Stitch all paced outside of the door, listening to Jeeba shrieking hysterically. Jumba came out of the room, went off to his lab and came back five minutes later wearing his lab coat and carrying a large bag that clinked when he moved it.

"Jumba! How is she? What are you doing?" asked Pleakley, tugging at his arm.

"Babies are too big for natural birth," he said, sounding embarrassed, as though it was his fault, "So I must operate at once. Earth people call it a Caesarean Section."

"Cool!" enthused Lilo, but Nani shook her head. Jumba went in and quietly closed the door behind him. Jeeba looked up when he walked in, terrified of what was to come.

"Jeeba, I am injecting you with anaesthetic, so you will not be feeling pain." Jumba set up a screen above her stomach so she couldn't see what he was doing, and poised his scalpel. He dug it in, and shuddered as a slow ooze of purple blood flowed out. He felt as though he was attacking his wife.

Twenty minutes later, Jumba sewed up the wound expertly and took down the screen. Jeeba was sitting up with the two babies in her arms. Her eyes were half-closed and she seemed to be in ecstasy over just looking at the babies. Now that they were cleaned up, Jumba could look at his son and daughter properly. He called in the rest of his family to come and look. Everyone was silent. They were so beautiful. They had four eyes, and deep purple skin, and both of them had retractable arms. Whilst they had these traits from both their parents, the boy resembled his father and the girl resembled her mother, as she was smaller and slimmer than the boy. The moment was spoiled when the boy opened his mouth and started crying, causing the girl to do he same. Everyone, including Jumba, was ushered out of the room. Then Jeeba lay down to rest.

The next day, everyone came round for lunch. Jeeba had just fed the children, and she was making soup for everyone. Jumba was already at the table, sitting and waiting patiently with a bowl, his spoon in his hand like a hungry child. The children were sitting in highchairs, watching their father. Everyone crowded round the table, and Jeeba poured out the soup. She'd made a special soup sandwich for Reuben, soaking a piece of bread in soup and placing it between two slices of bread. As everyone slurped appreciatively, Jeeba announced that later they would tell them what they had named the babies. Everyone was excited, but especially Reuben, because of a conversation they'd had earlier.

"So, Jeebs, you named the baby yet?"

"Yes."

"And…"

"I'll tell you later. But I named it after you." Reuben had looked up proudly for a second, but the gleam in his eye had quickly vanished.

"Thanks, that's really… hey! You said you were going to name the girl!"

"I did."

"So what do you mean by naming a girl after me?"

"You'll see _later_."

Finally, the moment came. Everyone crowded round, and Jeeba held the girl, sitting next to Jumba who was proudly holding his son. Lilo and Stitch sat at their feet looking up in wonder at the infants. Jumba spoke first.

"I name my son Keltzam Jookiba, after my father." He handed the baby to Nani, to pass round the room, who gasped slightly at the weight. As Keltzam was passed around, Lilo was reminded of show and tell at school. Then Jeeba spoke.

"I name my daughter Ruby Jookiba, after my favourite gem of all."

When Reuben held Ruby and looked into her eyes he felt as though he was glowing. She was adorable, and she was named after him. And he was Jeeba's favourite gem of all. Well, after Jumba, he supposed. Jeeba had spoken to him briefly before the naming ceremony, and had asked him to be the children's godfather. He was their Uncle Reuben. He had a second date with Jeeba's cousin. Gantu was coming home. Things were finally looking up.

_I know this chapter was longer than the others, but I wanted to wrap everything up properly. Thanks for sticking with it._** Please Review!!!**


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